The Darkest Hour(6)

The lock on the door of her hut rattled impatiently, and then another  gunshot, much closer, pierced her hearing. She glanced up just as the  door flew open. Sunlight blinded her, and she ducked away. When she  looked back, silhouetted against the odd orange glow behind him, stood a  man.

He was big and menacing, his features drawn and made ghoulish by the  fire and smoke and more sunlight than she'd seen in days. His rifle  swept the room before he focused all his attention on her.

Oh God, he was going to kill her. The day had finally come. The one they had taunted her with.

She whimpered deep in her throat and wrapped her arms protectively around herself.

"Jesus," the man swore. "Rachel, honey, we've come to help you. Everything's going to be okay."

She flinched. They had never used her name. In her darker moments, she wondered if she had made the name up.

The man turned his head sideways and spoke into some kind of a receiver  he was wearing. "I've got her. Hut three. North. We'll need cover."

He looked back at her and started forward.

She threw her arms over her head and shrank as small as she could. She closed her eyes so she couldn't see what was to come.

Above her the man swore softly, but he stopped. She could no longer hear  him move. She chanced a peek from under her arms and saw him standing  sideways to the door. He was looking out, his profile illuminated by  fire.

A few seconds later, another man burst through the door, a gun cradled in his arms. His gaze settled immediately on her.

The second man ripped off his helmet, and her mouth dropped open in  shock. She knew this man. She'd seen him so many times in her mind. But  he wasn't real, was he?

He knelt cautiously in front of her and extended his hand. "Rachel, it's me, Ethan. I've come to take you home."

He knew her name. Her guardian angel knew her name. She began to shake  harder, her teeth chattering loudly in her head. Pain gnawed incessantly  at her. She needed her medicine.

"Medicine," she croaked out. It hurt to speak. She hadn't spoken aloud in a long time. "I need my medicine."

Ethan frowned and looked back at the other man. Then he reached out and  gently took her arm. The first man moved from the doorway so that the  light shone more fully in, and she flinched away from the glare. Ethan  turned her wrist over until the inside of her arm was exposed.

He let out a hiss of anger.

She yanked her arm away and shrank from the power emanating from him.

"Shit, Sam," Ethan murmured.

The man he called Sam echoed the curse and then jerked his thumb over  his shoulder. "We have to move. Now. It's three miles back to the  chopper and we're still taking fire from all sides."

She stared between the two men, mystified by what was transpiring. Where were they taking her?

Ethan touched her cheek and then scrambled up, pulling her with him.  Pain wracked her body and she was bathed in heavy sweat. Yet she'd never  felt so cold in her entire life.

"Trust me, baby," Ethan said softly. "I'm going to get you out of here, but I need you to do as I say."

She barely had time to nod before he picked her up and threw her over  his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He fumbled with his rifle with his  free hand and then charged out the door behind Sam.                       
       
           



       

The ground spun dizzily underneath her and his shoulder dug painfully  into her belly until bile rose and ate at her throat. Around her the  world had gone mad. Fire blazed a path across the village and beyond.  Gunfire peppered the ground and trees around her, and she was sure she  would die. Now, when rescue was imminent, it would all be for nothing.  They would never let her go. They'd told her as much.

Suddenly she went flying through the air. Her back hit the ground with  such force that all the air was forced out of her lungs. She lay there,  one muscled arm banded tight around her waist as she tried to breathe.  Pain, so constant, exploded in her head until dark spots danced in her  vision.

She tried to turn when the nausea finally overwhelmed her, but she was  trapped. Panicked, she kicked and flailed but his grip only tightened on  her.

"Shhh, baby. I'm here. It's okay."

His voice comforted her, and she stilled beneath him. Ethan pulled her  to her feet, and she blinked as she adjusted to the constant stream of  sunlight.

As suddenly as he hauled her up, he shoved her back down, covering her head with his big arms.

"Son of a bitch! Where's the cover?"

Ethan lay there, sprawled over Rachel as he quickly scanned the area.  Goddamn it, Sam was pinned down several yards away. Ethan looked again  in the direction he knew P.J. to be and where Garrett and Donovan would  be rendezvousing.

He couldn't leave Sam, but he had to protect Rachel. Hell of a choice. His brother or his wife.

He pushed Rachel's hair from her face and took in the stark terror in her eyes.

"Listen to me, Rachel. I need you to do exactly as I tell you. See that slight path into the jungle?"

He pointed and waited for her to turn her head. When he was satisfied she was locked on, he motioned again.

"When I say go, I want you to run like hell. Straight down that path.  Get into the jungle and hide. I have people there. They'll find you."

She stared at him in horror, and he wondered if she'd even absorbed his directions.

"Come on, Rachel, say something. Tell me you understand. I have to help Sam."

Slowly she nodded. He let go of her and she scrambled to her knees, looking warily at her surroundings.

Ethan pulled the mic to his mouth. "I need cover. Sam's in trouble. I'm sending Rachel to you, P.J."

In response, a heavy line of fire peppered the area beyond Ethan. He shoved Rachel forward. "Go! Run!"

She didn't hesitate. Like a colt getting its legs under it for the first  time, she stumbled erratically and lunged toward the heavier growth of  the jungle.

She looked back, and he raised himself enough that he could see her.  Fire seared across his scalp, and he smelled the unmistakable scent of  scorched hair and blood.

Rachel stared at him in horror about the time he felt the warm slide of blood down his neck.

"Go!" he barked.

He dropped down and ran his hand over the area above his right ear. It  came away stained with blood. He still had most of his hair and he  wasn't missing any body parts, so it obviously wasn't serious.

He waited only long enough for her to disappear into the greenery before he turned to find his brother.

He crawled over and Sam shot him a disgruntled look.

"Save it," Ethan said shortly. "I'm not leaving you."

"You should be taking care of your wife," Sam bit out. "Not babysitting my ass."

Another round of fire peppered the metal barrels they'd taken cover behind.

"Goddamn sons of bitches," Sam said. "Where the fuck are Van and Garrett with all the goddamn explosives?"

An explosion shook the ground, and both men covered their heads with their arms as debris rained down all around them.

Ethan grinned. "Right there I'd say."

Another boom rocked the area, and Ethan and Sam took advantage of the  chaos to bolt from their cover. The earpiece fell from Ethan's ear, and  in front of him, Sam cursed a blue streak as they dove behind a stack of  boxes.

"Cole's been hit. Some fucking lucky ricochet. Steele's on his way to get him. Dolphin and Renshaw are providing cover."

"What about Rachel?" Ethan demanded. "Have Garrett and Van gotten to her yet? Where the hell is P.J.?"

He hadn't realized he was yelling into the mic until Sam winced.

"P.J. says to tell you she's busy saving your ass. No sign of Rachel.  Van and Garrett are looking. What the hell happened to your earpiece?"

"Lost it."

"Shit, Ethan, you're hit. You're bleeding like a stuck pig."

Ethan glanced up at his brother and curled his lip. "What are you, a  pussy? Your years out of the army turned you into a girl? Since when do  you worry over anything less than a missing limb?"                       
       
           



       

Sam shook his head and then gestured over his shoulder. "P.J. taken them  out yet? I'm getting damn tired of lying here in the dirt."

Ethan rose up on his elbows and swept his viewing area with his rifle.  Just when one of the assholes popped his head over a barrel, P.J. put a  bullet between his eyes. Damn the woman was good.

"I've got to get to Rachel," Ethan said.

Sam nodded. "On my count."

Ethan rolled, coming up on his knees.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

The two men dove from behind the crates, and ducked and ran for the jungle.

The world around them went eerily quiet when they reached the area where P.J. was positioned. It made Ethan uneasy.

Moments later, Steele, Renshaw, and Baker staggered through the growth  dragging Cole between them. Ethan glanced around to see Sam holding his  hand over his ear as he listened intently to traffic. He looked up at  Ethan, his expression grim.